'Makers' shows women's place is in US history

Lynn Elber, AP Entertainment Writer

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

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LOS ANGELES — The fight for women’s equality first had to argue that it was a fight worth having.

Apparently the same goes with giving the movement recognition: “Makers: Women Who Make America” is billed by PBS as an unprecedented account of women’s changing lives and the impact on U.S. society over the last 50 years.

“People are shocked by the fact it hasn’t already existed. ... It is long overdue,” said Gloria Steinem, the enduring face and voice of U.S. feminism. She’s among the prominent women featured in the three-hour documentary narrated by Meryl Streep and airing this evening at 8 p.m.

The documentary’s broad reach includes the struggles of lesser-known women, and its illustration of how restricted women’s opportunities were at nearly every juncture.

“I think ‘Makers’ gives you the sense that this is still a movement. This is still moving forward, and specifically we didn’t put the word ‘women’ in there because we wanted it to be inclusive,” said project founder and executive producer Dyllan McGee.